Читать книгу Holistic Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies - David Hoffmann - Страница 49

The senses have often been mistrusted by disciples on the path; it is the world of sense that must be transcended. And in our modern cities these precious qualities are daily assaulted by garish images, noxious air, a cacophony of inharmonious sound. Yet through the gentle use of the senses we can experience joy on the earth plane, encounter beauty, develop sensitivity and discrimination. With right use of the senses we know the immanence of spirit in matter.

Heinrich S. Ripszam

All the organs considered in this section share an anatomical closeness and a functional relationship, and are a major interface between the inner and outer environments. This interface is physical in that there is an exchange of gas in respiration and an input of food in eating for instance, but there is also the interface of awareness and communication. With our ears we hear the sounds of our world, a sense that reflects the spiritual quality of comprehension. With our nose we smell, an outer reflection of spiritual discernment and idealism.

Through the mouth the world of taste opens to us, itself a doorway to discrimination. The voice, generated in the throat, facilitates communication. Through the eyes light is revealed to us, and also the doorway to divinity.

This interaction with the outer environment, and the close connection between these organs through the continuous layer of mucous membranes they share, explains many of the conditions which may occur. It is possible to simply say that a bacterial infection has occurred, or that an allergy reaction is due to a particular grass pollen, but this is a very limited way of looking at symptoms. The systemic roots for a reduction of innate resistance must be sought, as must the cause of an immunological sensitivity.

There is a strong connection between the respiratory system and the ears, nose and throat. A beautiful example of the body’s synergy and self healing is given by the way that mucus is dealt with by the mucous membranes. Part of the function of the mucus is to trap particles and protect the underlying membranes from invasion. The mucus is disposed of by the ‘mucociliary escalator’. The cells lining the nose and throat have little hairs on them called cilia. These beat in one direction, moving material inexorably downwards towards the oesophagus and thus into the sterilising stomach. The lining of the bronchial tubes have cilia that move material upwards to the same fate. Under healthy conditions this works perfectly. However, if there is a change in the consistency of the mucus the mechanism cannot operate efficiently. Much of the herbal treatment of mucous conditions is therefore based on changing the consistency of the mucus; the cilia will do the rest.